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For up and coming wine regions, creating an identity can be a tough slog. Choosing the appropriate grapes for a particular climate and soil can take a long time. Vines take years to establish themselves, so any change of course is a time-consuming, and costly, endeavour.

Washington State is well into this process and for the most part has done a pretty solid job. I first visited this northwestern state, which is second to California in terms of wine production in the U.S., in 2008, and left feeling pretty bullish. After spending a week there recently, I’m even more so.

I tasted Bordeaux styled blends that were worthy of the reference to the fabled French region. The Rhône grape varieties — syrah, grenache, mourvèdre, counoise, cinsault — were arguably even better, as well as being unique and interesting. The same could be said for many of the whites. I tasted some very good viognier, grenache blanc and riesling. All good, and at times, really good.

The one greyish cloud was the reliance on the state’s most planted red grape, cabernet sauvignon. I did taste some great examples. But in many instances the results were excessively tannic wines that left me staring bleakly into my glass, wondering why there wasn’t more of that delicious syrah, or some other Rhône styled blend.

I was reminded by a few winemakers that “nobody” in the U.S. drinks syrah: If you can’t sell it, then why grow it? I would argue that it’s a long-term investment, because people will eventually figure out that syrah really isn’t all that different from cabernet sauvignon. Then, Washington state will be leading the way. But I don’t pay the bills.

I also got a sense that there exists a bit of a complex with respect to California winemakers, who have made their name with cabernet. Despite the fact that there is little to compare the two states when talking grape growing conditions — latitude and soils in particular — I heard California comparisons uttered way too many times during my visit.

Winemakers seemed almost apologetic when talking about cooler vintages like 2011, when in fact the wines were in many cases absolutely stellar, unless of course you were looking to make a California-style wine. All too often, I felt as though many winemakers were trying to squeeze too much out of the grapes, rather than making the more elegant and finessed wines of a cool growing season.

Ultimately, it’s a case of moving beyond what kind of wine you “want” to make, and accepting what kind of wine most authentically represents the land, soil and vintage. But that is coming. So while the fine tuning continues, here’s what Washington state has going for it.

The vast majority of grape growing happens in the Columbia Valley, which covers 4.4 million hectares of land (about nine times the size of Montreal). Due to two coastal mountain ranges, which keep Seattle and other coastal areas drenched, the interior is starved of rain. Some sub-regions are technically deserts with less than 30 centimetres of rain per year. So irrigation is necessary nearly everywhere. But because of the lack of humidity, there is very little disease pressure.

One thing I didn’t realize was that Washington state has little or no phylloxera, the sap-sucking insect that wiped out vineyards across the wine world.

This is due to the soils, which tend to be predominately silt and sand on top of basalt (hardened lava), which the little pests hate. So much of the state’s vines are planted on their own roots, which puts Washington state in a very small group of wine growing regions. Is it better? When I tasted at Cayuse, one of my favourite wineries in Washington, I much preferred the wine made from the original rootstock grapes.

Washington state also has a unique mix of latitude, altitude and heat. Like many of the world’s top growing regions, the higher latitude means long summer days filled with sunlight to ripen grapes. The altitude means cool nights that allow grapes to keep their acidity. Summer temperatures, however, can reach over 37C, which can make vines shut down and stop ripening.

This might be one of the reasons cabernet and merlot, which aren’t heat-loving grapes, aren’t always the best choice. Conversely, syrah, mourvèdre, counoise and other Rhône grapes can flourish in this climate.

One of the particularities of the wineries in Washington state is that they tend to source grapes for their wines from a number of different sub-regions. Most of the wines I tasted used the broad Columbia Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area) on the label. An AVA is much like a European appellation, though it only defines the geography of a region. European appellations rules about which grapes you can grow and deal with such qualitative issues as yields.

The most memorable wines I tasted during my trip were sourced from grapes grown solely from the smaller AVAs that make up the larger Columbia Valley AVA. The Hedges syrah from Red Mountain and Cayuse single vineyard Bionic Frog syrah from “The Rocks,” are two examples of great syrah. The Ancient Lakes region is the source of some exceptional riesling, and Sleight of Hand made one of my favourites.

My favourite AVA was Yakima Valley. Located on the western side of the Columbia Valley, its cooler temperatures and higher altitudes made for some pretty elegant wines.

The Bordeaux styled blends from Fall Line Winery, Eight Bells and Côte Bonneville were phenomenal. The grenache blanc from Two Vintners was a model of finesse.

So maybe the next step is really dialing down and making more wines from the smaller AVAs to really show the character of these sub-regions. However, many already are. Here’s hoping that even more will embrace what they have, because in many ways, it’s pretty special.

The writer was a guest of the Washington Wine Commission. The organization did not review or approve this article.

Twitter: BillZacharkiw

Facebook: billzacharkiwwine

You can hear Bill Zacharkiw talk about wine on CHOM-FM (97.7) every Friday at 7:45 a.m.

Riesling 2011, Eroica, Chateau Ste-Michelle, Washington State white, $28.50, SAQ #10749681. Nice to see this wine evolve over the years. Lemony pineapple, just a hint of residual sweetness, mineral, juicy. I tasted a 2008 recently and these wines evolve nicely. Serve at 8C. Drink now-2017. Food pairing: apéritif, Thai curries with coconut milk.

Syrah 2012, Boom Boom, Columbia Valley, Charles Smith Wines, Washington State red, $24.65, SAQ #11208561. Well named. No lack of power, but not overblown, and the fruit stays pretty fresh. Reminds me of a Crozes-Hermitage, though with darker fruit. The peppery spice, bacon, add to the depth. Oak is nicely integrated with none of that excessive vanilla. Serve at 16-18C. Drink now-2015. Food pairing idea: braised beef, leg of lamb.

Syrah 2010, Columbia Valley, L'École No 41, Washington State red, $33.25, SAQ #10709030. Shows the fruit-driven style of western Washington State. This is pure fruit with blackberry and dark raspberry with spice on the finish. Tannins are soft and cuddly, but with a vibrant acidity. Serve at 18C. Drink now-2018. Food pairing idea: grilled steak, pepper sauce.

Red Willow 2009, Yakima Valley, Fall Line Winery, Washington State red, $38, SAQ #12185575. In the spirit of a Saint-Émilion, this cabernet franc and merlot dominated blend is a beautiful example of the cooler Yakima region. Despite the ripe and complex fruit, there is an underlying minerality that grounds the wine, keeping it fresh. The tannins, ripe yet grippy, give great length. Beautiful wine. Serve at 18C. Drink now-2020. Food pairing idea: lamb chops, filet mignon with spice.

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